1987 Italian general election

Summary

The 1987 Italian general election was held in Italy on 14–15 June 1987.[1] This election was the first Italian election in which the distance between the Christian Democrats and the Communists grew significantly instead of decreasing. Two parties that had not previously been in parliament won representation: the Greens with thirteen seats, and the Northern League with two.

1987 Italian general election
Italy
← 1983 14–15 June 1987 1992 →
Chamber of Deputies

All 630 seats in the Chamber of Deputies
316 seats needed for a majority
Turnout88.83% (Increase 0.82 pp)
Party Leader % Seats +/–
DC Ciriaco De Mita 34.31 234 +9
PCI Alessandro Natta 26.58 177 −21
PSI Bettino Craxi 14.26 94 +21
MSI Giorgio Almirante 5.91 35 −7
PRI Giovanni Spadolini 3.70 21 −8
PSDI Franco Nicolazzi 2.96 17 −6
PR Marco Pannella 2.56 13 +2
Green List Gianni Mattioli 2.51 13 New
PLI Renato Altissimo 2.10 11 −5
DP Mario Capanna 1.66 8 +1
SVP Silvius Magnago 0.52 3 0
Lega Lombarda Umberto Bossi 0.48 1 New
PSd'Az Carlo Sanna 0.44 2 +1
Aosta Valley Several leaders 0.11 1 0
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Senate of the Republic

All 315 seats in the Senate of the Republic
163[a] seats needed for a majority
Turnout88.37% (Decrease 0.46 pp)
Party Leader % Seats +/–
DC Ciriaco De Mita 33.62 125 +5
PCI Alessandro Natta 28.33 101 −6
PSI Bettino Craxi 10.91 45 +7
MSI Giorgio Almirante 6.54 16 −2
PRI Giovanni Spadolini 3.85 8 −3
PSDI Franco Nicolazzi 2.36 6 −2
PLI Renato Altissimo 2.16 3 −3
Green List Gianni Mattioli 1.96 1 New
PR Marco Pannella 1.77 3 +2
DP Mario Capanna 1.52 1 +1
SVP Silvius Magnago 0.53 2 −1
Lega Lombarda Umberto Bossi 0.42 1 New
PSd'Az Carlo Sanna 0.38 1 0
Aosta Valley Several leaders 0.11 1 0
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Prime Minister before Prime Minister after the election
Amintore Fanfani
DC
Giovanni Goria
DC

Electoral system edit

The pure party-list proportional representation had traditionally become the electoral system for the Chamber of Deputies. Italian provinces were united in 32 constituencies, each electing a group of candidates. At constituency level, seats were divided between open lists using the largest remainder method with Imperiali quota. Remaining votes and seats were transferred at national level, where they was divided using the Hare quota, and automatically distributed to best losers into the local lists.

For the Senate, 237 single-seat constituencies were established, even if the assembly had risen to 315 members. The candidates needed a landslide victory of two thirds of votes to be elected, a goal which could be reached only by the German minorities in South Tirol. All remained votes and seats were grouped in party lists and regional constituencies, where a D'Hondt method was used: inside the lists, candidates with the best percentages were elected.

Historical background edit

In the 1980s, for the first time since 1945, two governments were led by non-Christian Democrat Premiers: the republican Giovanni Spadolini and the socialist Bettino Craxi; the Christian Democracy remained however the main force supporting the government.

With the end of the Years of Lead, the Italian Communist Party gradually increased their votes under the leadership of Enrico Berlinguer. The Socialist party (PSI), led by Craxi, became more and more critical of the communists and of the Soviet Union; Craxi himself pushed in favour of US president Ronald Reagan's positioning of Pershing II missiles in Italy, a move the communists hotly contested.

In June 1984 Berlinguer, the charismatic Communist leader, suddenly left the stage during a speech at a public meeting in Padua: he had suffered a brain haemorrhage, and died three days later. More than a million citizens attended his funeral, one of the biggest in Italy's history. Alessandro Natta was appointed as new party's secretary. The public emotion caused by Berlinguer's death resulted in an extraordinary strength for the Communist Party in the 1984 European election: for the first time in Western Europe since the French election of 1956, and for the first time ever in Italian history, a Communist party received a plurality by a democratic vote.

In 1984, the Craxi government revised the 1927 Lateran Pacts with the Vatican, which concluded the role of Catholicism as Italy's state religion.

During this period, Italy became the fifth-largest industrial nation and gained entry into the G7.

Parties and leaders edit

Party Ideology Leader Seats in 1983
C S Total
Christian Democracy (DC) Christian democracy Ciriaco De Mita
225
120
345
Italian Communist Party (PCI) Eurocommunism Alessandro Natta
198
107
305
Italian Socialist Party (PSI) Social democracy Bettino Craxi
73
38
111
Italian Social Movement (MSI) Neo-fascism Giorgio Almirante
42
18
60
Italian Republican Party (PRI) Republicanism Giorgio La Malfa
29
11
40
Italian Democratic Socialist Party (PSDI) Social democracy Franco Nicolazzi
23
8
31
Italian Liberal Party (PLI) Liberalism Renato Altissimo
16
6
22
Radical Party (PR) Radicalism Marco Pannella
11
1
12
Proletarian Democracy (DP) Trotskyism Mario Capanna
7
0
7
Federation of Green Lists (FLV) Green politics Gianni Mattioli
New

Results edit

Chamber of Deputies edit

 
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Christian Democracy13,233,62034.31234+9
Italian Communist Party10,250,64426.58177−21
Italian Socialist Party5,501,69614.2694+21
Italian Social Movement2,281,1265.9135−7
Italian Republican Party1,428,6633.7021−8
Italian Democratic Socialist Party1,140,2092.9617−6
Radical Party987,7202.5613+2
Federation of Green Lists969,2182.5113New
Italian Liberal Party809,9462.1011−5
Proletarian Democracy641,9011.668+1
Liga VenetaUnited Pensioners298,4020.7700
South Tyrolean People's Party202,0220.5230
Lega Lombarda186,2550.481New
Sardinian Action Party169,9780.442+1
Piedmontese Autonomist Movement72,0640.190New
Piedmontese Union61,7010.160New
Hunting – Fishing – Environment55,9110.140New
Aosta Valley41,7070.1110
DCPCIPSIPSDI29,9370.080New
Popular Alliance25,3390.070New
Fiscal Liberation Movement25,0460.060New
Pensioners' Alliance21,3420.060New
Italian Green Party–Greens of Europe20,9160.050New
Veneto Autonomous Region Movement18,9450.050New
Italian National Movement of Hunters14,7870.040New
PNI–Hunting and Fishing14,3060.040New
Friuli Movement13,2080.0300
South Tyrol Party11,2870.0300
Italian Greens–Ecological Party10,2690.030New
Independentist Party9,9580.030New
Humanist Alliance5,5850.010New
New People's Party5,0550.010New
Justice and Freedom4,7930.0100
Sicilian Renaissance2,9510.010New
National Party of Tenants2,8980.0100
Movement for the Independence of Trieste2,1030.0100
Total38,571,508100.006300
Valid votes38,571,50895.04
Invalid/blank votes2,015,0654.96
Total votes40,586,573100.00
Registered voters/turnout45,692,41788.83
Source: Ministry of the Interior
Popular vote
DC
34.31%
PCI
26.58%
PSI
14.26%
MSI
5.91%
PRI
3.70%
PSDI
2.96%
PR
2.56%
FLV
2.51%
PLI
2.10%
DP
1.66%
Others
3.44%
Seats
DC
37.14%
PCI
28.10%
PSI
14.92%
MSI
5.56%
PRI
3.33%
PSDI
2.70%
PR
2.06%
FLV
2.06%
PLI
1.75%
DP
1.27%
Others
1.11%

Results by constituency edit

Constituency Total
seats
Seats won
DC PCI PSI MSI PRI PSDI PR FLV PLI DP Others
Turin 34 9 10 5 2 2 1 2 1 1 1
Cuneo 14 6 3 2 1 1 1
Genoa 21 6 7 3 1 1 1 1 1
Milan 48 14 13 9 2 2 1 2 2 1 2
Como 20 7 4 4 1 1 1 1 1
Brescia 21 10 4 3 1 1 1 1
Mantua 7 3 3 1
Trentino 10 3 1 1 1 1 3
Verona 30 14 5 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Venice 16 7 4 3 1 1
Udine 13 5 3 3 1 1
Bologna 26 6 12 3 1 2 1 1
Parma 20 6 9 3 1 1
Florence 14 4 8 2
Pisa 14 5 6 2 1
Siena 9 3 5 1
Ancona 16 6 6 2 1 1
Perugia 12 4 5 2 1
Rome 54 19 14 7 4 2 2 2 2 1 1
L'Aquila 15 7 4 2 1 1
Campobasso 4 3 1
Naples 42 17 10 6 3 1 2 1 1 1
Benevento 19 9 4 3 1 1 1
Bari 25 10 6 4 2 1 1 1
Lecce 20 8 5 3 2 1 1
Potenza 7 4 2 1
Catanzaro 22 9 6 4 1 1 1
Catania 28 11 6 4 3 1 1 1 1
Palermo 27 11 5 4 2 1 1 1 1 1
Cagliari 18 7 5 2 1 1 2
Aosta Valley 1 1
Trieste 3 1 1 1
Total 630 234 177 94 35 21 17 13 13 11 8 7

Senate of the Republic edit

 
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Christian Democracy10,897,03633.62125+5
Italian Communist Party9,181,57928.33101−6
Italian Socialist Party3,535,45710.9136−2
Italian Social Movement2,121,0266.5416−2
Italian Republican Party1,248,6413.858−2
PSIPSDIPR962,2152.9790
Italian Democratic Socialist Party764,3702.365−3
Italian Liberal Party700,3302.163–3
Federation of Green Lists634,1821.961New
Radical Party572,4611.773+2
Proletarian Democracy493,6671.521+1
Liga VenetaUnited Pensioners298,5520.920−1
South Tyrolean People's Party171,5390.532−1
Lega Lombarda137,2760.421New
Sardinian Action Party124,2660.3810
Lay-Socialist Alliance (PSIPSDIPRIPLIPR)[b]84,8830.261New
Piedmontese Autonomist Movement60,7420.190New
PSIPSDIPRGreens58,5010.1810
Pensioners Popular Alliance51,7900.160New
Piedmontese Union51,3400.160New
Molisean Democratic Alliance49,2970.150New
Hunting – Fishing – Environment41,1350.130New
Aosta Valley35,8300.1110
DCPCIPSIPSDIPLI25,4260.080New
Italian Green Party–Greens of Europe22,0060.070New
Italian Greens–Ecological Party19,1270.060New
Friuli Movement17,5280.0500
Fiscal Liberation Movement13,9150.040New
Independentist Party11,8180.040New
South Tyrol Party8,5510.030New
Sicilian Renaissance5,2580.020New
Sardinian Action Party–Alliance for Federalism4,8120.010New
National Party of Tenants4,1030.010New
Italian National Movement of Hunters2,6950.010New
New People's Party2,5070.010New
Total32,413,861100.003150
Valid votes32,413,86194.17
Invalid/blank votes2,007,3695.83
Total votes34,421,230100.00
Registered voters/turnout38,951,48588.37
Source: Ministry of the Interior
Popular vote
DC
33.62%
PCI
28.33%
PSI
10.91%
MSI
6.54%
PRI
3.85%
PSIPSDIPR
2.97%
PSDI
2.36%
PLI
2.16%
FLV
1.96%
PR
1.77%
DP
1.52%
Others
3.62%
Seats
DC
39.68%
PCI
32.06%
PSI
11.43%
MSI
5.08%
PSIPSDIPR
2.86%
PRI
2.54%
PSDI
1.59%
PLI
0.95%
PR
0.95%
FLV
0.32%
DP
0.32%
Others
2.22%

Results by constituency edit

Constituency Total
seats
Seats won
DC PCI PSI MSI PSIPSDIPR PRI PSDI PLI PR FLV DP Others
Piedmont 24 8 8 3 1 1 1 1 1
Aosta Valley 1 1
Lombardy 48 18 12 8 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1
Trentino-Alto Adige 7 3 1 3
Veneto 23 13 5 4 1
Friuli-Venezia Giulia 7 3 2 2
Liguria 10 4 4 2
Emilia-Romagna 21 6 11 3 1
Tuscany 19 6 10 1 2
Umbria 7 2 4 1
Marche 8 3 4 1
Lazio 27 10 9 4 2 1 1
Abruzzo 7 4 2 1
Molise 2 2
Campania 30 13 8 4 3 1 1
Apulia 21 8 6 3 2 1 1
Basilicata 7 4 2 1
Calabria 11 4 4 1 2
Sicily 26 10 6 4 3 1 1 1
Sardinia 9 4 3 2
Total 315 125 101 36 16 9 8 5 3 3 1 1 7

References edit

  1. ^ Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1048 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
  1. ^ Taking into account the unelected Senators for life, who accounted for 9 seats at the time the election took place
  2. ^ Contested in Sardinia. Paolo Fogu of the PSI was elected.